I was never a good student; I drove my public school teachers mad and dropped out of two colleges without attending class much. I was too distracted and messed up to learn.

Now, well into my 70s, photography has inspired me to learn and work hard at it. I spent two hours with my Leica Akademie teacher, Donald Prebble, this morning. We had a Zoom meeting.

Donald is also the deputy manager of the Leica store in Boston.

He is young, incredibly knowledgeable, and empathetic. He gets my issues with Dyslexia and goes slowly, carefully, and patiently. We were both surprised by how much I have learned about the camera, and how much easier it is for me to get inside of it and try out the settings and exposures.

Still, the lessons are rough for me. I am getting there. I will never drop out of this school.

I learned that I can only be the photographer I want to be if I understand the inner workings of a camera like the Leica. It’s very different from everything I’ve worked with.

This camera I have, a mirrorless SLR-s, can do a hundred things I don’t know about and am still learning. We set up two profiles this morning and changed the settings for everyday photography and another for wildlife photography. I’ll need another few lessons to use it quickly and accurately.

I didn’t know you could set up profiles.

I still fear using the settings in the camera; I’m afraid I’ll mess it up and get stranded. It makes me panic sometimes.  Sometimes, I get so frustrated I want to cry and give up.

I need to get over that. Donald is the perfect teacher for me. Working with someone so talented is demanding, but I am learning more and more by the minute.

The Leica has changed everything for me. It is a wonderful camera, capable of wonderful things, and it is pulling me along with it. It would be a crime to waste the possibilities of a camera like this.

Donald understands that dyslexics need repetition and clarity. At first, he got frustrated, we’ve moved past that. We’ve learned a lot together and I expect to learn more.

This is important to me. I’m finally healed enough to learn and eager enough to do it. Donald and I are Zooming again in a week or so.